Holding a wine glass in one hand and swatting away flies with the other could be a thing of the past for West Australians visiting the South West region in spring.
Hundreds of new dung beetles are being released in the tourist region to eradicate the cow pat breeding grounds of the pesky bush fly.
While WA already has a number of introduced dung beetle species, they are only active during summer and native dung beetles only bury marsupial poo.
Over the past two years, CSIRO scientists have bred the new beetle, which was imported from France and Spain's wine regions, to be active during Australia's spring.
WA Department of Agriculture senior entomologist Rob Emery said the pinky fingernail-sized species should stop the bush fly buzzing to the region in their millions in the warmer months.
But the beetle's work will not be felt for more than a decade until it establishes its population.
"Older people remember flies in the 70s. They were just diabolical," Mr Emery told AAP.
"Right around Christmas Day, the existing species, the ones that were released back in the 70s and the 80s, they suddenly take effect.
"Those dung beetles will just shred the dung, bury it, lay eggs in it and there's just nothing left for the flies."
Mr Emery said the beetles would be released near Kojonup, which had the best climate match to the species' Mediterranean homeland, to increase its chances of success.
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